Rajasthan civic poll results to be declared tomorrow

Jaipur: The electoral fortune of 7,375 candidates for 46 civic bodies of Rajasthan including six municipal corporations will be declared on Tuesday. "The counting of votes will start at 8 AM in 24 district headquarters covering 46 cities where the polls were held on November 22," State Election Commissioner Ramlubhaya said.

"An average of 67.64 percent votes were polled in 1,680 wards of 46 civic bodies including six municipal corporations. Kaithun municipality recorded a maximum voter turn out of 88.38 percent while Jaipur Municipal Corporation recorded a minimum of 59.02 percent polling," he said.

Six municipal corporations of Jaipur, Kota, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Udaipur and Bharatpur, 18 municipal councils and 22 municipalities went to polls after five years.

Ten candidates of the ruling BJP and six of the opposition Congress party were elected unopposed in the civic polls after withdrawal of nominations on November 15.

Apparently fearing horse trading in the post-poll scenario, both ruling BJP and opposition Congress have put up their candidates in hotels and private accommodations to keep the flock together.

Admitting that the probable councillors of Jaipur Municipal Corporation covering 91 wards have been accommodated at a luxury hotel in Sitapura area, BJP state party chief Ashok Parnami said it was being done to provide training and knowledge of the municipal corporation.

"Why should we think of horse trading or any other calculations when the party candidates would form the JMC at their own?" Parnami said.

He said that BJP has always been holding such training camps and workshops to apprise new members of constitutional and parliamentary rules and regulations.

Congress also held a meeting of its 91 candidates at former MLA Pratap Singh Khachariwas' house to train the new comers, Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee spokesperson Archana Sharma said.